Use simulation to reduce risks in electronic design

SPICE-ing Up KiCad

© Photo by Tamanna Rumee on Unsplash

© Photo by Tamanna Rumee on Unsplash

Article from Issue 296/2025
Author(s):

Designing a power supply can be an interesting yet dangerous engineering task. You can reduce some of the inherent risk by building a model and running simulations with SPICE in KiCad.

I was recently tasked with designing a small mains power supply with an output of 5V at 1A. As the design would eventually have to pass stringent safety and compliance approvals, an off-the-shelf supply was not an option. Instead, I set out to discover how to do this design with as many standard components and with as few design iterations as possible.

Classic low output voltage power supplies use a transformer to reduce the AC mains voltage to a much lower AC voltage that is then rectified, smoothed, and regulated to produce usable DC output. However, such transformers that operate at a main frequency of 50/60Hz are bulky and inefficient, and they often generate stray magnetic fields that can be troublesome to nearby sensitive circuitry.

Switched Mode

Almost all current power supplies and voltage converters are switched mode power supplies (SMPS). This term covers all manner of power conversion devices, but what they have in common is converting a DC voltage into a pulsed signal that is then fed to some type of inductor that is in turn used to convert those pulses into pulses at a different voltage for subsequent conversion back to DC.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Designing PCBs

    Take your electronic projects to the next level with your own PCB designs.

  • Function Generator HAT

    A touch display, a case, and a custom add-on board transform the humble Rasp Pi into a high-performance function generator that rivals expensive commercial offerings.

  • Electronic Weighing

    Create your own weighing device with easily available components and open source software.

  • RPi Flight Simulator Interface

    A Raspberry Pi running Linux with a custom I2C card and a small power supply provides an interface for a real-time flight simulator.

  • BlueSpice 4.1

    Keep your team collaborating with BlueSpice, a wiki tool focused on professional customers.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News